to the canals of the North rather than the Volga. Named Vandal, it commenced commercial operation in the spring of 1903. Vandal was accidentally damaged on its maiden voyage, repaired and served on the Volga route for ten years. The larger Sarmat, with four 180 h.p. engines, was launched next summer. Unlike Vandal, Sarmat'''s engines could be coupled to the propellers directly, bypassing the electrical drive and saving up to 15% of engine power that would be otherwise lost in the electric transmission. Sarmat operated until 1923; the hulk was moored in Nizhny Novgorod until the 1970s. The new ships attracted public and professional interest and brought in new orders. Plant payroll expanded to more than a thousand men, but growth brought in management problems. Rolf Nobel, Ludwig Nobel Jr. and Hagelin split with Emanuel over the future of diesel-powered shipping. Hagelin's proposal to convert existing steam-powered fleet to diesel engines was rejected by Emanuel. Hagelin quit, and accepted the post of Swedish consul general in Saint Petersburg. In 1907 Hagelin and Johnson designed a 4,500-ton tanker, and again Emanuel Nobel rejected the proposal. The inventors sold their blueprints to Merkulyev Brothers of Kolomna who built the world's first true seagoing diesel-powered tanker, Mysl, in 1908. This, at last, compelled Emanuel to grant Hagelin sweeping rights to modernize the company fleet that reached 315 vessels in 1915. Notes References Gardiner, Robert; Greenway, Ambrose (1994). The golden age of shipping: the classic merchant ship, 1900–1960. Conway Maritime. . Tolf, Robert (1976). The Russian Rockefellers: the saga of the Nobel family and the Russian oil industry. Hoover Press. . Thomas, Donald E. (2004). Diesel: Technology And Society In Industrial Germany''. University of Alabama Press. . 1903 ships Tankers of Russia Marine propulsion Diesel-electric vehicles